Apple announced on Wednesday (28) the purchase of the maker Beats Electronics headphones and music streaming company Beats Music for about $ 3 billion. It is the largest acquisition in the entire history of the company founded by Steve Jobs.

The Beats, founded by music industry veteran Jimmy Iovine and artist and producer Dr. Dre, produces headphones and earlier this year launched a subscription music service in which customers pay a monthly fee to have access to a huge amount of music.

The company's investors include Carlyle, the Access Industries Group and Universal Music Group, where Iovine was senior executive for many years. In October last year, Carlyle paid about $ 500 million to buy just under half of the Beats.

The co-founders of the Beat, Jimmy Iovine and rapper Dr. Dre will join Apple as part of the purchase agreement.

The transaction is expected to close in the fourth quarter, Apple said on Wednesday.